Hypertext is basically the same as regular text it can be stored, read, searched, or edited with an important exception:
Hypertext contains connections within the text to other documents or locations. Hypertext allows non-sequential reading and writing of documents by using embedded links to jump from one place in the document to another; hopefully in a meaningful way. The cross reference links are determined by the author but the user chooses which branches to take.
Multimedia combines text, photographic images, video, animations and sound to provide the means to visualize and interact with information in a meaningful way.
Hypermedia is hypertext with a difference. Hypermedia documents contain links not only to other pieces of text, but also to other forms of media:
• sounds
• pictures
• movies
• animations
The destination of a link is a node. Pictures may also be used to link to other nodes. Hypermedia simply combines hypertext and multimedia. It allows authors to connect information in diverse ways, allowing users to explore a complex web of interlinked information according to their needs and interests.